The present invention relates to intra-vaginal devices, and more specifically, to intra-vaginal devices and methods for providing therapeutic treatment to the cervical region.
Women's personal health products, including feminine hygiene products, reproductive health products, and other women's health products, have seen relatively little progress in the past fifty years. Women looking for solutions to today's myriad feminine health issues traditionally have turned to the same antiquated devices and techniques as generations before them.
For relief from dysmenorrhea, for example, women typically turn to either chemical means, i.e., pain relief medications, hormones, or application of external heat to the pelvic region. These relief options tend to provide inadequate effectiveness, and are associated with other disadvantages such as the visibility of external heat application and the side effects and limitations of hormones and pain relief drugs to provide consistent pain relief for the duration of a woman's menstrual cycle.
For various other women's health issues in which an intra-vaginal device may be used, such as barrier methods of birth control (e.g., diaphragm, cervical cap), insertable chemical contraceptive devices, as well as newer methods of collection of menstrual fluid (e.g., disposable menstrual cups), manual insertion and removal remain the norm. Many women find such manual techniques complicated and unhygienic. Of these, the barrier birth control devices often have additional shortcomings associated with them, such as need for a precise fit and thus medical office fittings for devices made in a variety of sizes. Alternatives to disposable menstrual cups remain limited to tampons and sanitary napkins, products that are often inconvenient, limited to short periods of wear, and/or associated with additional health risks, such as Toxic Shock Syndrome.